I have never really concentrated on "nice stands" for my cymbals or snare.

Today, I notice my old Sonor 400 series boom stand was slightly bent. The weight of the tom hanging from it had caused the stand to lean just a bit. But, it was enough that the tom couldn't be mounted completely level. Also, I don't want to say the stand alway had wobble in it, but I had to be very careful where I mounted the tom so that the stand wouldn't tip.

So today, I stopped by my local GC and they were having a SALE (I know, they never have sales) and so I picked up a DW 9700 boom stand for 112. But I had a 35 dollar credit, so after tax, it was about 85 bucks.

All I can say is WOW! The stand is a friggin tank. Just high quality all around. I love my DW 5000 hi hat stand, but the quality of the 9000 series hardware makes me think that I might need to change out all of my other hardware. I have my 24 ride on a PDP stand and it seems to have a bit of wobble.

I need to check out the 9500 HH stand too.

Anyway, what great hardware. Heavy as hell though. Will be a good work out loading and unloading the car.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Mike

__________________Do you have length and girth? I do! 18 x 26 at your service.

All the 9000 series hardware is really made well. The downside is it is heavier. I did upgrade to the 9000 hi-hat and like it alot. My old 5000 model never gave me any problems, but I like the fact that I can fold the pedal up while transporting. I know they make the new 5000 models to fold up also now, mine was an older model. I've never owned any DW cymbal stands though, I use Tama Roadpro and love them. You definitely cannot go wrong with DW hardware.

I have never really concentrated on "nice stands" for my cymbals or snare.

Today, I notice my old Sonor 400 series boom stand was slightly bent. The weight of the tom hanging from it had caused the stand to lean just a bit. But, it was enough that the tom couldn't be mounted completely level. Also, I don't want to say the stand alway had wobble in it, but I had to be very careful where I mounted the tom so that the stand wouldn't tip.

So today, I stopped by my local GC and they were having a SALE (I know, they never have sales) and so I picked up a DW 9700 boom stand for 112. But I had a 35 dollar credit, so after tax, it was about 85 bucks.

All I can say is WOW! The stand is a friggin tank. Just high quality all around. I love my DW 5000 hi hat stand, but the quality of the 9000 series hardware makes me think that I might need to change out all of my other hardware. I have my 24 ride on a PDP stand and it seems to have a bit of wobble.

I need to check out the 9500 HH stand too.

Anyway, what great hardware. Heavy as hell though. Will be a good work out loading and unloading the car.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Mike

Be wary of the 9000 series Hi Hat stand. I moved from the junk that came with my starter kit straight to DW 9000 hardware so I would never have to re buy or upgrade my hardware.

The chain on the 9000 hi hat is surprisingly thin and I have had to replace it once because it broke. It's the only bit that steadies the pole you screw the top pole bit into (apologies for bad terminology here) so after a while it had been twisted enough that it broke one day.

I checked out my mate's 5000 stand and the chain is a monster so I'd go with that one. When I have my new kit and have sorted my new setup out one of the first things I'm gonna do is sell the 9000 and buy a 5000.

Serious hardware is a joy to use--except of course when it's time to move it!

What I've done is go to seriously solid cymbal stands (Pearl 1000 series) and mount more stuff from them via booms and clamps, rather than have multiple stands.

Now I only use two cymbal stands. One has a ride, crash, and an 18" china, the other has an 8" tom, a crash, a 12" china and a splash. Everything is memory-locked out the wazoo, so all I have to do is plunk down two stands--on the tape marks on the drum rug--zip everything out to the memory locks, and add the tom and cymbals. Quick and easy and I don't have to spend a minute moving this stand two inches, that stand an inch, etc.

I have a complete set of DW hardware for one of my DW kits. It is amazing, the attention to detail and the quality is fantastic. I own a DW 5000 and a DW 9000 hi-hat stands. Both are great the 9000 is a little smoother and really takes less effort to play.

I also agree the downside is weight but, I use a roller case and it really is no big deal.

I remember back in the early 80s TAMA tried a line of hardware aimed at the gigging drummer, Spartan was the name if I remember correctly. They used aluminum for the legs, it never caught on.

Axis has some aluminum hardware out, I would love to try it.

I think I have to pay homage to the first truly heavy duty hardware I can recall, TAMA Titan. I still have a lot of them and even though they are 30 years old these stands are still working like new. The workhorse that started it all!

I
I remember back in the early 80s TAMA tried a line of hardware aimed at the gigging drummer, Spartan was the name if I remember correctly. They used aluminum for the legs, it never caught on.

I think I have to pay homage to the first truly heavy duty hardware I can recall, TAMA Titan. I still have a lot of them and even though they are 30 years old these stands are still working like new. The workhorse that started it all!

Yep, you are correct, sir! I remember those Spartan stands in person and in the catalog! They were a good idea which never caught on, much like the Ludwig Hercules line with the tubular legs.

Great hardware is the key to having fun on a kit. Your drums can be made of bad wood and sound horrible, but as long as everything you can feel is solid and setup the way you like, it can make all the difference.

I would take a crappy kit with top of the line hardware over top of the line drums with crappy hardware any day. If that makes any sense...

Serious hardware is a joy to use--except of course when it's time to move it!

What I've done is go to seriously solid cymbal stands (Pearl 1000 series) and mount more stuff from them via booms and clamps, rather than have multiple stands.

Now I only use two cymbal stands. One has a ride, crash, and an 18" china, the other has an 8" tom, a crash, a 12" china and a splash. Everything is memory-locked out the wazoo, so all I have to do is plunk down two stands--on the tape marks on the drum rug--zip everything out to the memory locks, and add the tom and cymbals. Quick and easy and I don't have to spend a minute moving this stand two inches, that stand an inch, etc.

Heavy/strong but fewer is my new motto. ;-)

Fewer, stonger/heavier stands is the way to go. I have two DW 9000 stands, each holding two toms and three cymbals (also using DW Dog Bones and Puppy Bones) and a third stand holds my ride cymbal, a cowbell and supports a legless hihat. I use memory locks and, when I can't use a lock, I paint a mark with fingernail polish, so set-up is easy and consistent. Weaker or single-braced stands would hold this much stuff as steadily or as durably as the 9000s and I'd have to use more stands. The side benefit is much cleaner appearance and smaler floor footprint.

I do think it's silly when I see people using a forest of double-braced stands around their kit. They'll have like a double-braced boom stand holding six-inch splash and nothing else. Hauling around a dozen double-braced stands is crazy when you can consolidate things with some ingenuity.

Ok so this is too funny. After our discussion about the TAMA Spartin series ,

I was surfing Craigslist and saw a TAMA cymbal stand for 20 bucks. It was in a pile of other hardware so really the only thing I could see was the counter weight. I assumes it was a Titan, I figures 20 bucks is a steal, and yes you guessed it, it is a Spartan, for 20 bucks.

I'm a die-hard Yamaha and Pearl hardware fan (owning several Yam stands and the Pearl ICON curved rack) and the DW stuff has intrigued me lately too. Really innovate features and they look strong like bull LOL.

I might sell my Yam stands and get like 2-3 DW 9734's with some dogbone add-ons and do what others have said and mount multiple things on one stand. I definitely hate taking way too many stands to gigs. And with usual space constraints, the Pearl rack often is left at home.

I'll second the praise for the Yamaha hardware. Very reliable, strong, and flexibile, but not as heavy as the dw stuff, if I recall. I currently use dw stands - 9000 series on my full-size set-up and 5000 series on my new short-stack kit.

The weight of the 9000 hardware is very noticeable to me, even with a trolley/cart. Having used the 5000 stands, I'll probably resign the 9000 stuff to my home set-up, even though the 9000 stands come with the quick lock/release handles.

I think you'll like using the 9000 series hi-hat. Again, heavy, but with a smooth action, and for me, very reliable. I have some combo stands, too. They are great. Add one or two dogbones and, as other have said, you'll be able to mount everything you need to on 2-3 stands.

I think it is awesome that many major manufacturers produce a wide-range of quality gear. The frustrating bit is deciding which product best suits your needs and budget.